1) What is the BBC's mission statement?
Inform, Educate and Entertain
2) How is the BBC funded?
It's paid for by the TV license The license fee is currently £159 a year and must be paid by any household that wants to watch live broadcast TV or iPlayer.
3) What must the BBC do to meet its public service broadcasting responsibilities?
4) What is regulation and how is the BBC regulated?
TV is regulated in the UK to ensure that rules are followed and inappropriate content is not broadcast to audiences. The BBC is regulated by OfCOM (the Office of Communications). OfCOM oversees all media channels and produces a code of conduct that all media channels must follow or have their license to make content removed and/or be fined heavily.
5) How do Doctor Who and His Dark Materials help the BBC to meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain?
HDM and Doctor Who are 2 examples of Tv series that the BBC offer, both are educational as they vary of scientific discoveries to mysteries of portals. The uses of audience pleasures also allow it to be entertaining at the same time.
Audience
1) Read this audience rating guide for His Dark Materials. Based on the screening and this article, who do you think the target audience is for His Dark Materials and why? What about psychographic groups?
The audience rating from HBO is 14. Since it has mild violence, the show is most likely targeted towards a family audience with older slightly teenage kids or anyone from the ages between 14 and 50.
2) What audience pleasures are offered by His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies? Apply Blumer and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
Personal Identity: Personal Identity: The audience may relate to Lyra's grief and sadness of losing a loved onePersonal Relationships: Lyra and wills good relationship and humor will be interesting for the audience to realize
Diversion (Escapism): The fantasy genre gives a sense of escapism for the audience to experience something unique
3) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to His Dark Materials? Refer to specific scenes or moments in the episode to explain your answer.
The audience might experience visceral pleasure while watching Mrs. Coulter torture the witch since the scene is exciting. The viewers may get a sense of vicarious joy as they experience the trip alongside Lyra and Will thanks to their thrilling escapades.
4) How did fans react to Season 2 of His Dark Materials? What about critic reviews? You can find some possible answers for this in this BBC website article on the critical reception for His Dark Materials and watch the fan reaction video above.
The Independent's Ed Cumming said: "It looks great, it's robustly made, and there are great actors everywhere, occupying well-built universes. "But it doesn't inspire as much wonder as it ought to."
In a three-star review, he added: "Viewers who've invested in the series won't stop now. For a series about magical worlds, aimed at younger viewers, however, there's not quite enough magic." Cumming said that some elements of the books had been lost while being adapted for the BBC One drama.
"The daemons never quite replicate the humor and self-doubt they convey in the books. It's a missed opportunity: what better device could there be for representing the novelistic inner voice on screen?"
5) What might be some of the preferred and oppositional readings for His Dark Materials? Why did some fans love it? Why have other people criticized it?
Some may argue that the show was religiously offensive and so caused controversy as God himself doesn't come out of the story unscathed, either, as He is rendered as a cold, controlling tyrant. This anti-religious -- particularly anti-Christian -- rhetoric garnered the series an unsavory reputation among the faithful.
Industries
1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?
it was co-commissioned for an international audience by the BBC and the American television network HBO however the media creators were the company Bad Wolf.
2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials?
The first episode of the first series of His Dark Materials series was watched by audiences of 7.2 million in the UK and 423,000 on HBO. The first broadcasts of the CSP episode had audiences of 4.4 million on BBC1 and 227,000 on HBO.
3) What was American network HBO's role in making His Dark Materials and why is this important?
As a co-commission with the BBC, His Dark Materials had two hugely respected media giants behind it - and in HBO's case a huge amount of money. HBO has over 40 million subscribers and brings in around $7 BILLION in subscription revenue each year.
4) What famous stars are in His Dark Materials and why do you think they were selected for the show?
As His Dark Materials was aimed at an international audience, the show features both British and American star names such as Brits Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy and American Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote the smash hit musical Hamilton. There was also a range of videos and promotional events designed to create a buzz around the new season of His Dark Materials:
5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce?
Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 to create ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for the global TV marketplace. From its headquarters in South Wales the company has built up an international reputation as one of the foremost independent production companies in the UK, producing over 50 hours of high-end drama for broadcasters and networks including HBO, BBC, AMC and Sky.
Comparison: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child and His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies
1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2020 His Dark Materials (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?
In the 1963 episode the SFX and special effects in the scene when the T.A.R.D.I.S takes off can be described as goofy and unrealistic whereas in HDM the special effects are so realistic that it actually seems as if the animals can talk
2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative?
They are both fictional however one is just fantasy and the other is scientific fiction making the storyline of one seem more realistic than the other however one is more advanced so overall seems more realistic.
3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?
Language
1) Write an analysis of the episode. Make specific, detailed reference to moments in the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots and movement, editing, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)
Camerawork, editing and sound: Sound: non-diegetic music - epic, orchestral music sets adventure genre and atmosphere.Mise-en-scene: Storm/rain - connotations of danger but also reminding audiences her friend Roger died in season 1.
Narrative and genre: Steampunk genre - futuristic genre but with old, Victorian technology (mix of old and new). Airships, submarine.
Audience
1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Has it changed since 1963?
When the show first launched it was aimed at a white middle classed audience as these were the only characters included in the show however now it is more inclusive with a range of different characters of different ethnicities and backgrounds
2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumer and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
Personal Identity: School - creates personal identity for audience as its audience was mainly made up of teenagers who were most likely in education at school at the time
Personal Relationships: The show is very popular as the Doctor always travels with one or more companions creating a sense of relationship between the doctor and other humans which allows them to further enjoy the tv show
Diversion (Escapism): Opening title sequence like a rocket taking off - sci-fi genre and links to 1960s space race which audience found entertaining as it was interesting and linked to current events.
Surveillance (Information / Facts): Listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world with over 800 episodes.
3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020 audience?
4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?
VISCERAL PLEASURE: Being intrigued on the video effects used when the TARDIS is moving
VICARIOUS PLEASURE: The characters in the TARDIS going through time/space travel
VOYEURISTIC PLEASURE: The inside of the TARDIS a futuristic machine that would have not been common at the time
5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.
Industries
1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
In 1963 there wasn't much flexibility in options as there were only two TV channels in the UK in 1963: BBC and ITV.
2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?
In terms of technology, videotape had only been in use for seven years when An Unearthly Child was made. It allowed the BBC to create the space and time travel effects we can see in the episode which were considered amazing at the time.
3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC?
Doctor Who is one of the most iconic franchises that the BBC has. It has been shown all over the world through BBC Worldwide and generates huge income for the BBC.
4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?
5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples.
The fans are obsessed with the show to the point where in order to embrace there passion they demand merchandise such as Tshirts
